Utility vehicles for off-road and recreational use may have two rows of seats, with one row behind the other, for seating 4 to 6 passengers. A cargo box also may be provided behind the second or rear seat. Some utility vehicles have a rear seat and a cargo box that are fixed. However, when the second or rear seat is not used for carrying passengers, it is desirable to use that space for carrying cargo.
For that reason, some off-road or recreational utility vehicles include a rear seat that is retractable and a cargo box that is expandable into the space formerly occupied by the rear seat. There are a number of such utility vehicles with conversion mechanisms to retract the rear seat and expand the cargo box into the rear seat area. These conversion mechanisms may require two persons and/or multiple steps to retract the rear seat and expand the cargo box, and are subject to wear over time that may slow or interfere with their use.
A transformable cargo box for an off-road or recreational utility vehicle is needed that one person can operate to transform a rear seat area to an expanded cargo box with a minimal number of steps. A transformable cargo box is needed for an off-road or recreational utility vehicle that is simple and quick to operate, and has few mechanical components that are subject to wear that may restrict their use. A transformable cargo box is needed that may be raised for dumping in either a first non-extended position, or in a second extended position.